What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that the topic of slavery is, and
should be, disturbing, and young children will need help
understanding. Harriet is in danger through much of the book.
There is also a strong spiritual element to the book in
Tubman's many conversations with God.
Families who read this book could discuss slavery. What was it? Why was it practiced? How could people have treated others this way? Also, How did Harriet's faith give her the courage to do what she did? For families practicing a religion, how does Harriet's faith resemble and differ from your family's idea of faith?
Common Sense Media Review
Two things set this story of Harriet Tubman apart from the
many others on the market. The first is the focus of the text.
Rather than a simple retelling of the known events of her life,
this is instead a somewhat fictionalized account of Tubman's
spiritual journey. As told in the swirling, lyrical writing,
filled with rhythm and internal rhyme, these are her
conversations with God, whose voice she hears in the breeze and
the songs of birds, whose face she sees reflected in moonlight
on swamp water. The book consists primarily of these
conversations, before, during, and after her flight, laid out
in clever typography that enhances the meaning.
The second is the artwork, a series of two-page, borderless paintings that are nothing short of spectacular. Clear, vivid, bathed in light even in the darkness, they accent the spirituality and add a powerful emotional expressiveness to the book. Combined with the poetic text, the images create a musical quality; a chanted spiritual of uplift and veneration that turns this oft-told historical tale into something more. It's more than just the tale of a brave woman freeing slaves, it's a testament to something that engages the heart and senses, as well as the mind, and hums in the soul long after the cover is closed.
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